If your employer is a small enterprise with between ten and 50 staff, you are more likely to get a decent Christmas bonus than if you work at a larger company.

That’s one of the conclusions from research commissioned by gift card company One4All.

It found that small enterprises reward their staff more generously than large organisations at Christmas, with an average bonus of €425. This compares with the €355 given by large enterprises  with more than 250 employees, which is 16% lower on average.

One4All commissioned Coyne Research to do the research in order to get a better understanding of the current Christmas bonus landscape in Ireland. Among its other findings, men do better than women when it comes to bonuses, receiving a 50% higher bonus on average (at €485), with women receiving only €240.

It also transpires that only one in five Irish workers believe that their boss deserves any Christmas bonus.

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One4All managing director Michael Dawson (pictured) said: “It is [also] great to see that the Irish public appreciate the long hours worked over the festive period by nurses in order to help those in need, with an overwhelming majority agreeing that they should be rewarded with a Christmas bonus.”

Dawson pointed out that his company’s gift cards qualify under the benefit-in-kind scheme, through which businesses can reward their employees with up to €500 tax-free ‘in kind’ at Christmas.

“Our One4all multi-store gift cards qualify for this initiative, and you can spend the credit on our gift cards almost anywhere, on almost anything – from that new pair of shoes you’ve had your eye on, to that present you always wanted to buy for your partner or best friend.”

The research also looked at the preferred form of recognition at Christmas, and multi-store gift cards came out as one of the most popular, second only to cash. Other forms of recognition valued by employees at Christmas include an extra day off and a free Christmas party, which placed third and fourth most popular.

When asked if being given a bonus would influence a decision of whether to stay working for a company or not, 71% of respondents said they would be more likely to stay in their job if they received a Christmas bonus from their current employer.

The majority of Irish workers also said they would be happy with any form of appreciation from their employer at Christmas, with seven out of ten respondents (71%) claiming that the amount doesn’t matter, they would be grateful for any bonus they receive.